


Jokes

by biTurret



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Humor, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 15:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9130015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biTurret/pseuds/biTurret
Summary: Mondatta notices that Genji is having trouble adjusting to life at the temples, and asks Zenyatta to help cheer him up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as "I want to write about the JOKES side of genji and zenyatta!" but then it got a little less JOKES at the end. Sorry for any inaccuracies re: the canon story, still a little fuzzy about anything that happened before Overwatch.

It was a sunny day, the kind that pleasantly warmed the metal of the robotic monks in the monastery. Most of them were meditating outside, grateful for the scarce warmth. Genji had only been here for half a week, and he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of the monks’ daily schedules. He was sitting on top of a half-built concrete pillar, silently brooding.

Mondatta was strolling through the courtyards when he saw Genji. Concerned, he moved toward him. It was his duty to check up on all the monks and make sure there were no problems, after all. He came to a halt at the base of the pillar and cleared his throat to announce his presence. Genji spared him a glance, but did not otherwise acknowledge him. 

“How are you settling in? Things are to your liking, I trust?” Mondatta ventured. Genji grunted in response, staring into the distance and absentmindedly clenching his fists. Mondatta had dealt with his fair share of unhappy monks—this was nothing new. A different approach, then.

Mondatta extended his hand, waiting for several minutes before a passing bird flitted onto his arm with a tweet. He glanced up; Genji was now staring at him curiously. Excellent. Mondatta sighed fondly and lifted his arm so Genji could see the bird better. “It is a beautiful day, is it not? The sun is shining. Our spirits are as free as this bird.” He extended his arm further, encouraging the bird to take off. It flew quickly away, heading for the inner temples. Mondatta looked up at Genji, sure that his words would have an impact.

The man continued staring for a few seconds before replying. “Maybe your spirit is free. That bird is going to fly to the temple and get stuck inside, then it’ll die. That’s how my spirit feels.” 

The two stared at each other for a moment before Genji huffed and returned his gaze to the middle distance. It was another few minutes before Mondatta could compose himself enough to mutter a goodbye and leave the pillar. He needed to have a word with Zenyatta immediately.

 

“I am worried about your student, my brother.” Zenyatta looked up from his meditation to see Mondatta heading toward him, disgruntled concern rolling off of him in waves. What had Genji done this time?

“Hello, brother.” Zenyatta greeted politely. “What worries you about young Genji?” Yes, the young man had been taking his time settling in, but there was nothing terribly concerning to Zenyatta. He had been through quite an ordeal, in any case. It would be expected if Genji was troubled.

Mondatta sighed, and it was a mark of how exasperated he was that he simulated the noise instead of just continuing to talk. “He will not train. He will not talk to anyone. He is ruining the aura of the entire temple, brother. You must do something to improve his mood.” Zenyatta nodded solemnly. Yes, he had noticed. But, wasn’t that within reason for someone in Genji’s situation?

“My brother, he has been through such an atrocity. He needs time to grieve, wouldn’t you agree?” He offered. Mondatta shook his head almost immediately.  
“He has been at this temple for nearly two months.” Two months? Zenyatta shook his head in surprise. My, how time flies. “Zenyatta, my brother, you must do something.” Mondatta pleaded. 

Hm. If Mondatta was truly so concerned… Zenyatta stood and offered a hand to his brother. “Do not fret, brother. I will see to Genji and assure that peace returns to the temples.” Mondatta shook his hand gratefully, only to jerk back with a yelp. Zenyatta laughed and held up his hand, showing off the hidden joy buzzer in his palm. “And I am confident that I know just how to do so.”

 

Genji was still sitting on the half-built concrete pillar when Zenyatta arrived. Meditating, he would call it, to avoid being told to do anything else. He heaved a loud sigh as Zenyatta approached, sliding off the pillar and landing heavily albeit gracefully in front of the monk. He was under the direct apprenticeship of Zenyatta, so if he was going to answer to anyone here, Genji figured it might as well be him. “Good day, master.”

Zenyatta inclined his head. “And good day to you, my student. Come, we have much to do today.” He didn’t miss the annoyance that rippled across Genji’s body at the thought of actually doing something besides brood on a pillar. No matter. There was more than one way to train a monk, after all, and Zenyatta had endless tricks up his sleeve.

The two strolled across the sparse meadow, headed for one of the smaller and more isolated temples. Zenyatta attempted several conversations, but Genji didn’t seem to be in the mood for talking, answering only with one or two words. In all honesty, the challenge of improving Genji’s mood was refreshing for Zenyatta. At heart, he was interested in spreading peace and understanding everyone. With how peaceful things were at the monastery, sometimes things got a bit boring.

They entered the first room of the small temple. No other monks were present, and flat cushions were placed in a grid around the room. “First, we shall be meditating. Try to think on peace and forgiveness. Open your mind and your heart.” Zenyatta moved to a mat in near the corner, waving for Genji to take his place on the neighboring mat. Genji heaved another sigh and Zenyatta could practically hear the roll of his eyes, but the young man nevertheless came over and sat upon the mat.

A loud, sputtering fart sound split the air, courtesy of the whoopee cushion Zenyatta had sneaked under Genji’s mat. Truth be told, he’d been waiting forever to use the whoopee cushion—options were limited when all your brothers and sisters mostly floated to meditate. Zenyatta eagerly turned to Genji, sure that the man would begin laughing out of surprise at best and embarrassment if nothing else.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. If anything, Genji seemed irritated. He muttered a quick “excuse me” under his breath in Japanese and assumed a meditation pose. Zenyatta cocked his head to the side, then faced forward and also moved into his meditation pose. Well, that hadn’t worked. Perhaps improving Genji’s mood would be a bigger challenge than the monk originally thought. He moved his shoulders back and began to clear his mind. There was plenty of day left, but the challenge would be easier tackled with a fresh head.

The pair meditated for exactly an hour before Zenyatta raised up and adjusted his robes. Genji wasted no time in standing and stretching, muttering about how he would never get the hang of meditation and how it was a waste of time. Zenyatta paused, but ultimately decided that would be a mission for another day. Genji’s overall mood first, his attitude toward meditation second.

The meditation had given Zenyatta plenty of time to think on how best to improve his student’s mood. The temple they were in was a sort of trial run site for many of his pranks, and as such, there were plenty of joyful distractions just waiting for Genji to be lead into them. 

“Come, my student.” Zenyatta started. “The temple is a sacred place, and exploring it will be good for your mind.” It wasn’t totally true, but it wasn’t a total lie either. If all went according to plan, it would be good for his mind. Genji nodded, and Zenyatta moved down the hallway with him in tow. If he remembered right…ah, yes, this was the place. The monk moved through the open doorway, dipping down slightly before waiting a few feet from the entrance.

Genji walked through the doorway, and face-first into the clear plastic wrap stretched across. Zenyatta expected surprise, perhaps slight fear before his student would laugh and admit his folly. He didn’t expect Genji to slash a short sword upward, shredding the plastic wrap, and leap backward to cling to the nearest wall. Caught completely off-guard, it was all Zenyatta could do to extend his hand and ask if Genji was quite alright. Perhaps it was time to steer back to less…surprising jokes.  
The man slowly dismounted the wall, sheathed his sword, and hunched his shoulders. “Master,” He bit out. “Is there something going on today that I should know of?” 

Well…that was complicated. Of course, there was something going on, but he shouldn’t really know of it. That would spoil it.

“Do not trouble your mind, my student.” Zenyatta said carefully. “I’m sure it was merely something left over. This temple is not often used. Please, join me so we may begin the lesson.” Genji huffed and looked around warily, but entered the room regardless.

Zenyatta took a careful seat on the table in the center of the room, then pulled the end of a silk scarf from his pocket. He handed it to Genji and folded his hands. “This scarf has sacred properties. Please study it. How it feels, how it flows…take your time, and make sure to examine the entire scarf.” Genji looked from the scarf in his hands to his master and back to the scarf. Zenyatta could practically hear the defiance in Genji’s silence, but the man yanked a chair around to sit anyway.

Genji started by thoroughly examining the very end of the scarf, turning it over and over in his hands and even flipping up his visor to study the color more carefully. When he was satisfied with how well he knew the end of the scarf, he began to carefully tug on it, trying to unearth the entire scarf. He was more cursory in his examinations of the continued length of the scarf for the first few feet. After that, Genji stood up and was furiously yanking on the end of the scarf as it seemed to pile endlessly out of Zenyatta’s pocket. By the time he reached the end, the man was gritting his teeth and pulling so quickly that he grasped at the air twice before falling backward with nothing to hold him. He collapsed into the sizable pile of silk on the floor that the scarf had been reduced to.

Zenyatta looked down at his student with a happy hum. “Excellent work, my student.” He chuckled. Surely, this would at least crack a smile from the man. Even if it was a smile from sheer exasperation at having pulled perhaps thirty feet of fabric from a pocket for no real purpose. Once again, he was surprised. Genji was sitting among the silk, his tongue between his teeth, scowling as he examined the end of the silk with as much detail as he had given the first few inches.

My, my. So he really was determined, even given a menial task. Perhaps this was the wrong approach to improve Genji’s mood. Zenyatta rose from the table, and the young man looked up, pausing in his scarf examination. “That is enough. You’ve done very well.” Genji looked back to the scarf for a second, perhaps questioning whether he should go with Zenyatta or finish the scarf thing that he’d started. In the end, he stood up and gave a slight bow to his master. Zenyatta noted the slump of his shoulders, replacing the tense hunch from earlier.

He placed a hand on Genji’s shoulder and patted him affectionately, then turned to exit the room. The monk moved through the hallways, the same way they had come in, and Genji followed. Once outside, Zenyatta glanced backward to make sure that Genji was still near him, then continued forward towards a small hill.

This time, Zenyatta did not offer any conversation. During the walk, Genji ventured a “Master, where are we heading?” and Zenyatta merely hummed in response. After perhaps ten minutes, the monk could feel Genji getting antsy, so he quickened his pace slightly before coming to rest at a hilltop covered in daisies. Genji paused, then cautiously followed Zenyatta toward the flowery patch, wary of saran wrap or whoopee cushions lurking about.

Zenyatta alighted in the grass and leaned back with a happy hum. He looked up at Genji, still standing awkwardly at the edge of the flowers. “This is the last lesson of the day. Join me.” Genji advanced, still slow and full of caution. “There are no tricks here, my student. You have my word.”

This seemed to bolster the man’s confidence, and he moved over to take a careful seat next to Zenyatta. The two sat in silence for several minutes before Genji broke it with a frustrated sigh. “Master, why have you brought me here? There is nothing to learn except how many flowers can grow in one place. And I’m not going to count them.” He added the last bit quickly, and Zenyatta chuckled.

“I brought you here because I enjoy this hilltop, and I wish to share it with you.” He extended a hand, waiting for mere seconds before a butterfly alighted on his finger. Genji looked around to suddenly realize that butterflies were all around, white to blend in with the daisies. Zenyatta continued. “I understand what you have been through is extremely painful. I tried to cheer you in my way, and I was wrong about what you required. I would like to share one of my favorite places with you, and let you know that I am here because I want to help.”

Genji didn’t reply for several minutes. He gazed at the butterflies and the daisies around them, and watched the sun sink lower in the sky before he let out a sigh. Not an angry, exasperated sigh, but the sigh of a man holding in too much pain. “I am sorry for my attitude, master.”

Zenyatta turned to face the man. His visor was up, and his gaze was focused on two butterflies several feet away. “There is no need to apologize.”

“I know that I could be a better student. I wasn’t ready to give up the pain. I am…” Genji let out another shaky sigh, then turned to face Zenyatta. “I am ready to heal. Thank you for doing what you can to help me.”

Zenyatta hummed happily. “I am pleased to hear that, my student. I will help you as much as I am able. Thank you.” He extended his hand, and Genji smiled before shaking it. He yanked his hand back with a yelp as the joy buzzer activated once again, and Zenyatta froze in horror. Had he truly forgotten about the joy buzzer, and ruined the best opportunity for his student?

His worries were quickly washed away as Genji broke out into laughter, shaking his hand out and swearing in Japanese. The monk cocked his head to the side. He never knew laughter could be so beautiful.


End file.
